Billy Corgan Reflects on Finding Love and Family Life with Wife Chloe: ‘One in a Gazillion’
Billy Corgan had always dreamed of having a family, but it wasn’t until he met Chloe Mendel Corgan that it became a reality.
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, the Smashing Pumpkins frontman, 57, shared how he had nearly given up on the idea of fatherhood after years of unsuccessful relationships. “I wanted kids since my late 20s, but I kept being in one bad relationship after another,” he said. “When I met my wife, I’d pretty much given up on the idea.”
Corgan and Chloe, 32, tied the knot in September 2023 after 11 years together. The couple already shares two children—son Augustus, 9, and daughter Philomena, 6—and are now expecting their third child. “She’s a one in a gazillion,” Corgan said of Chloe. “Everything runs off mom for sure.”
Despite their busy lives, the couple prioritizes spending time together, even when Corgan is on tour. “We try to be together as much as we can,” he shared. “She’ll call me and say, ‘We’re flying in tomorrow to see you,’ and just show up for a couple of days.”
The rocker, who recently launched his podcast The Magnificent Others, joked that Chloe might interview him for an episode, though he knows she won’t hold back. “She said she’s going to put me on the spot—to show people the person that she knows,” he laughed.
As he continues to balance music, podcasting, and family life in Illinois, Corgan says their approach is simple: “We kind of make it up as we go along. Somehow it works.”